Shaykh Mufid
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Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Nu'man al-'Ukbari al-Baghdadi, known as al-Shaykh al-Mufid () and Ibn al-Mu'allim (c.9481022 CE), was a prominent Iraqi
Twelver Twelver Shi'ism (), also known as Imamism () or Ithna Ashari, is the Islamic schools and branches, largest branch of Shia Islam, Shi'a Islam, comprising about 90% of all Shi'a Muslims. The term ''Twelver'' refers to its adherents' belief in twel ...
Shia
theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...
. His father was a teacher (''mu'allim''), hence the name Ibn al-Mu'allim. The title "al-Mufid" was given to him either by Muhammad al-Mahdi, the twelfth Shia Imam, or by al-Rummani, a Mu'tazilite scholar, after a conversation with him. The leader of the Shia community, he was a mutakallim, theologian, and Shia jurist. He was taught by Al-Shaykh al-Saduq, Ibn Qulawayh, Abu Abdallah al-Basri and al-Rummani, and Sharif al-Murtaza and Shaykh Tusi were among his students. Only 10 of his 200 works have survived, among which are ''Amali'', ''Al-Irshad'', ''Al-Muqni'ah'', and ''Tashih al-Itiqadat''.


Early life and education

Al-Mufid was born in 'Ukbara, a small town to the north of
Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...
, on 11th Dhul Qa'dah in 336 Hijra. According to Shaykh Tusi, however, he was born in 338 AH, and later migrated with his father to
Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...
, where the Shia Buwayhids were ruling. He studied with Ibn Babawayh. Sharif al-Murtaza and Shaykh Tusi were among his students. His career coincided with that of the
Mu'tazili Mu'tazilism (, singular ) is an Islamic theological school that appeared in early Islamic history and flourished in Basra and Baghdad. Its adherents, the Mu'tazilites, were known for their neutrality in the dispute between Ali and his opponents ...
theologian and leader of the Bahshamiyya school, 'Abd al-Jabbar. Al-Mufid was often attacked, and his library and school were destroyed. He was also called Ibn Muallim, meaning "son of the teacher"; Muallim was his father. Among his teachers were the Shia theologian Abu Ali al-Iskafi, Abu Abdallah al-Marzubani, Abu Abdallah al-Basri, Abu al-Hassan, and Ali ibn Isa al-Rummani. Commonly known as the leader of the Shia, Al-Mufid is regarded as the most famous scholar of the Buyid period and an eminent
jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...
, mainly due to his contributions in the field of kalam. According to Ibn al-Nadim, who knew al-Mufid personally, he was the head of the Shia ''Mutekallimun'' in the field of kalam, and al-Tawhidi, who was also personally familiar with al-Mufid, described him as "eloquent and skillful at dialectic (''jadal'')". His skill in polemical debate was such that he was said to be capable of convincing his opponents "that a wooden column was actually gold". He was taught the Islamic science of
hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...
by Al-Shaykh al-Saduq.


His nickname "al-Mufid"

It is said that al-Mufid earned his name "al-Mufid" as a result of a dispute about the relative merits of two events, the Ghadir Khumm and the Cave. Al-Mufid participated in a lecture given by Isa al-Rummani, where in a response to a question al-Rummani claimed that Ghadir Khum was based merely on ''riwayah'' (transmitted tradition), while the story of the Cave was based on ''diraya'' (knowledge). After the lecture, al-Mufid visited al-Rummani and asked him about
Aisha Aisha bint Abi Bakr () was a seventh century Arab commander, politician, Muhaddith, muhadditha and the third and youngest wife of the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. Aisha had an important role in early Islamic h ...
, Talha, and Zubayr, who had rebelled against Ali, "a legitimate Imam". Al-Rummani responded that they had repented, and al-Mufid claimed that their repenting was merely based on ''riwaya,'' whereas the war was based in ''diraya''. Al-Rummani then sent al-Mufid to al-Basri, with a note nicknaming the bearer "al-Mufid" ("the Instructor"). However, according to Ibn Shahr Ashub, in his ''Ma'alimul Ulamaa'', the name was given to him by Muhammad al-Mahdi, the twelfth Shia Imam.


As a theologian

Taught by Abdallah al-Basri, the Mutazili theologian and
hanafi The Hanafi school or Hanafism is the oldest and largest Madhhab, school of Islamic jurisprudence out of the four schools within Sunni Islam. It developed from the teachings of the Faqīh, jurist and theologian Abu Hanifa (), who systemised the ...
jurist, al-Mufid adopted many theological opinions. Macdermott believes that al-Mufid's theology is closer to the old
Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...
school of Mutazilism than to Abdul Jabbar's late Basran system. His methodology is closer to that of the Baghdad school, and he seems to have followed the Baghdad school and Mutazilism in his views concerning such questions as God's unity and justice. However, al-Mufid differs from Mutazilism on the problem of
Imamate The term imamate or ''imamah'' (, ''imāmah'') means "leadership" and refers to the office of an ''imam'' or a Muslim theocratic state ruled by an ''imam''. Theology *Imamate in Shia doctrine, the doctrine of the leadership of the Muslim commu ...
and the position of grave sin in this life. Al-Mufid tried to defend the role of reasonhe described it as Al-Nazarand also disputed for the truth and put away faults with the help of argument and proofs. Also, al-Mufid believed that the task of a theologian was according to reason and argument. His views were adopted by his pupils, 'Abd al-Jabbar and Sharif al-Murtaza.


God's attributes

Al-Mufid defined God's unity in this way: According to al-Mufid, all believers in God's unity, save for "some eccentric anthropomorphists", agree with this. Like Mutazilis, al-Mufid rejected "the simple realism of the Ash'arite theory of attribution". However, al-Mufid and 'Abd al-Jabbar give different explanations of what an attribute is, and whether it is in an object or in the mind.


Prophecy

According to al-Mufid, there is an absolute necessity for
prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings ...
s, since in order to know
God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
and moral principles man needs
revelation Revelation, or divine revelation, is the disclosing of some form of Religious views on truth, truth or Knowledge#Religion, knowledge through communication with a deity (god) or other supernatural entity or entities in the view of religion and t ...
, and he noted that "every apostle (''rasul'') is a prophet but every prophet (''nabi'') is not an apostle". Although he took care to make a distinction between an apostle and a prophet as the
Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
does, he did not believe that there was a difference in their functions, which enabled him to put the Imams on the level of the prophets and the apostles except in terms of their names.


Imamah

Al-Mufid defined the ''Imamiya'' as those who believe in the necessity of
Imamah The term imamate or ''imamah'' (, ''imāmah'') means "leadership" and refers to the office of an ''imam'' or a Muslim theocratic state ruled by an ''imam''. Theology *Imamate in Shia doctrine, the doctrine of the leadership of the Muslim commu ...
,
Ismah ''‘Iṣmah'' or ''‘Isma'' (; literally, "protection") is the concept of incorruptible innocence, immunity from sin, or moral infallibility in Islamic theology, and which is especially prominent in Shia Islam. In Shia theology, ''ismah'' is ch ...
and personal '' nass'', i.e., personal designation. He tended to the belief that the Imams are superior to all the prophets and apostles, with the exception of
Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
. According to al-Mufid, Imams can "take the place of the prophets in enforcing judgments, seeing to the execution of the legal penalties, safeguarding the Law, and educating mankind", a definition which makes an Imam not only "the head of the community in administrative, judicial, and military matters", but an "authoritative teacher of mankind". This attitude regarding Shia Imam is the basis of other teaching in Mufid theology such as Imam's immunity from sin and error, the necessity of having an imam in all the times and the way the Imam should be designated.


His criticisms of Al-Shaykh al-Saduq

On a number of occasions al-Mufid was critical of his teacher, Al-Shaykh al-Saduq, and his ''Tashih al-Itiqadat'' was a correction of al-Saduq's ''Risalat al-Itaqadat''. Not limiting himself to theological matters, al-Mufid rejected al-Saduq's resort to ''akhbar al-ahad'' (single tradition), particularly when a legal statement is to be issued. However, he did not object to al-Saduq's views concerning the extent of the
Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
; he only criticized his views on the nature of the Quran. Unlike al-Saduq, al-Mufid accepted "religious and speculative theology". While al-Saduq allowed controversy "only in the form of quoting and explaining the words of God, the Prophet, and the Imams", reporting a tradition from
Ja'far al-Sadiq Ja'far al-Sadiq (; –765) was a Muslim hadith transmitter and the last agreed-upon Shia Imam between the Twelvers and Isma'ilis. Known by the title al-Sadiq ("The Truthful"), Ja'far was the eponymous founder of the Ja'fari school of Isla ...
, the sixth Imam of Shia, al-Mufid believed that there were two kinds of disputationnamely, "true" and "vain".


Works

Shaykh al-Mufid is said to have written 200 works, of which only a few more than ten have survived. Some of his works are as follows: * '' Al-Amali (of Shaykh Mufid)'', also known as "''Al-Majaalis''", traditions recorded by al-Mufid's pupils during the sessions where al-Mufid gave the chain of narration ending up with himself * ''Tashih al-Itiqadat'', a correction of al-Saduq's ''Risalat al-Itiqadat'' * َ'' Awail Al Maqalat'', an elaboration of al-Mufid's theology and "a practical catalogue of Imamite positions on disputed questions" * '' Kitab al-Irshad'' or ''Al-Irshad fi ma'rifat hujaj Allah 'ala al-'ibad'', on the lives of the Shia Imams * ''Al-Fusul al-`Ashara fi al-Ghaybah'' * ''Ahkam al-Nisa'', on legal obligations regarding women * Fifth Risalah on Ghaybah * ''Al-Muqni'ah'' (''The Legally Sufficient'') The commentary on this book by Shaykh Tusi, ''Tadhhib al-Ahkam fi Sharh al-Muqni'ah'', is among the Shia
four books The Four Books and Five Classics are authoritative and important books associated with Confucianism, written before 300 BC. They are traditionally believed to have been either written, edited or commented by Confucius or one of his disciples. S ...
.


Tawqīʿ

Al-Mufid received two Tawqīʿs by Muhammad al-Mahdi during major occultation.


Death

Al-Mufid died on the third day of
Ramadan Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...
in 413AH. According to the Shia writer Shaykh Tusi, "The day of his death drew the largest crowd ever seen in any funeral, and both friends and foes wept uncontrollably". He remained buried in his own house for two years, after which his body was moved to Al Kadhimiya Mosque and buried next to his teacher, Ibn Qulawayh al-Qummi. His grave is near the feet of two of the Shia Imams, Musa al-Kadhim and his grandson Muhammad al-Jawad.


In popular culture

The ninth day of Azar in Iran's official calendar is the commemoration day of Shaykh al-Mufid. An image of Mofid has been shown as imaginary in a paint.


See also

* Muhammad al-Kulaynī * Allāmah Majlisī * Shaykh al-Hur al-Āmilī * Ja'fari jurisprudence *
Holiest sites in Islam The holiest sites in Islam are located in the Middle East. While the significance of most places typically varies depending on the Islamic schools and branches, Islamic sect, there is a consensus across all mainstream branches of the religion tha ...


Secondary studies

* Paul Sander, Zwischen Charisma und Ratio, Berlin, 1994 * Tamima Bayhom-Daou, Shaykh Mufid, Makers of the Muslim World, Oxford, 2005


References


External links


Al-Amali

Kitab al-Irshad

Karbala Historical Resources

The Emendation of a Shi‘ite Creed

Kitab Al-Irshad
{{DEFAULTSORT:Al-Shaykh Al-Mufid 948 births 1022 deaths 10th-century Arab people 11th-century Arab people Iraqi Shia Muslims Shia scholars of Islam Academics from Baghdad Scholars under the Buyid dynasty 10th-century Twelvers 11th-century Twelvers